Exactly, SDMDTSU. He was a nice pickup by Grunfeld and he's done a good job, but he's not the missing piece to the puzzle. He's a stopgap measure, at best. And, quite frankly, the fact that he's had as much impact as he has says as much (or more) about the ramshackle state of the Wizards as it does about Boykins.

"Though I'm glad they are winning games...It's a little discouraging to be leaning on Boykins so much. He isn't a long-term solution, however, I'm willing to ride the wave as long as it lasts. Posted by: SDMDTSU"

I don't know if a team like Washington can afford to think long-term. If Boykins helps win now, then he's their man. Next season is another problem. Possibly for another management team.

EB is good but he's a liability on defense. The Zards lost to Detroit because Will Bynum went off on them in the 4th quarter. Ben Gordon also killed them in that game. If Gil and EB play for more than 1 quarter together the other team's guards will score 30 points each.

EB is good but he's a liability on defense. The Zards lost to Detroit because Will Bynum went off on them in the 4th quarter. Ben Gordon also killed them in that game. If Gil and EB play for more than 1 quarter together the other team's guards will score 30 points each.

Posted by: freeflyr61 | December 4, 2009 2:37 PM | Report abuse
will bynum and ben gordon are scoring guards. especially gordon he's like a designated shooter. those guys will try to get off on whoever's guarding them, because they have to score for their team to succeed. not all pg are gonna be so focused on trying to take it to earl, besides if it's between him and DS getting on the floor i'll take Earl "Lil Pearl" Boykins all day.

"Next season is another problem. Possibly for another management team."

Since you brought it up, I think that Grunfeld's chances of sticking around if the Wiz fall short of expectations (again) may improve in the wake of Pollin's death. Assuming Leonsis gets the team, he knows better than most that Pollin's determination to treat everyone who worked for him like family and his sentimental attachment to players sometimes came at the detriment of the hard choices that need to be made to improve the team. (I think that, left to his own devices, Grunfeld may have already broken up the Big 3 and moved on to the next phase, but Pollin likely wouldn't have stood for it.)

Taking Grunfeld's overall track record into account, he may be willing to give Ernie a shot to rebuild things with a freer hand, particularly in regards to retooling the roster specifically to suit Saunders' needs. Also, if Leonsis (or whoever the new owner is) fires Grunfeld then he'll have to make a decision of Saunders. Keep him and you risk creating the same awkward power struggle that occurred between Grunfeld and Jordan, because the coach wasn't the GM's choice. Fire him and you're on the hook for a lot of money to a guy who's not actually working for you.

"Next season is another problem. Possibly for another management team."

Since you brought it up, I think that Grunfeld's chances of sticking around if the Wiz fall short of expectations (again) may improve in the wake of Pollin's death. Assuming Leonsis gets the team, he knows better than most that Pollin's determination to treat everyone who worked for him like family and his sentimental attachment to players sometimes came at the detriment of the hard choices that need to be made to improve the team. (I think that, left to his own devices, Grunfeld may have already broken up the Big 3 and moved on to the next phase, but Pollin likely wouldn't have stood for it.)

Taking Grunfeld's overall track record into account, he may be willing to give Ernie a shot to rebuild things with a freer hand, particularly in regards to retooling the roster specifically to suit Saunders' needs. Also, if Leonsis (or whoever the new owner is) fires Grunfeld then he'll have to make a decision of Saunders. Keep him and you risk creating the same awkward power struggle that occurred between Grunfeld and Jordan, because the coach wasn't the GM's choice. Fire him and you're on the hook for a lot of money to a guy who's not actually working for you.